Murphy family, Bridgetown, embraces Southern Devons

After living the city-paced life, the pair decided to pack up and move onto their Bridgetown property that they purchased in February 2020.

The farm is spread across 130 hectares of well-pastured hills running in conjunction with the Blackwood River.

Mr Murphy was born and bred on a wheat and sheep farm in southern New South Wales, but has been living in Perth since 1986.

A hard worker at heart, the now Bridgetown farmer has since built a new home, new cattle yards and two new sheds on the property.

Starting out with 55 Friesian yearling steers, Mr Murphy soon turned his attention to the breeder market and the South Devon cattle breed.

"I decided to make the shift in herd dynamics so we can market the cattle quicker," Mr Murphy said.

"If I extended the Friesian herd, the turnaround would have been 18 months to two years, but with the breeders it would be more like seven to nine months."

When the opportunity came up in February 2022 to buy 44 South Devon breeders from Richard Creek, at Boyup Brook, Mr Murphy didn't hesitate.

"South Devon cattle can sometimes be larger-framed, stretchy animals," he said.

"Mr Creek breeds a deeper-bodied animal with a certain softness, and that's what caught my attention."

With a growing eye for cattle, Mr Murphy said he looked for a cow that had good length, width and depth of body.

"My aim in future is to get rid of the bony hips so I can gain more meat on the backside and rump," he said.

"I also want a cow that is a good mother and will stay with her calf.

"Ideally quiet, easy handling cattle who aren't too flighty in the yards are what we need."

With the mission to breed a beefier type of cow, Mr Murphy is joining his South Devon breeders to an Angus bull.

Since owning the farm the Murphys have sourced Angus bulls from Venturon Livestock, at Boyup Brook, and Little Meadows stud, at Dardanup.

Mr Murphy is learning the ropes of cattle selection and is selecting based on visual appraisal and estimated breeding values.

"I'm looking for a well-structured bull with softness again and a straight back," he said.

"I have been paying attention to the 200, 400 and 600-day weights as well as birthweights."

Mr Murphy said he wanted something that would throw a smaller calf for an easy birth, as well as something that could have fast growth rates.

Over the next two years the plan for the cattle is to increase the breeding numbers to 60 head and their calves.

It has 47 calves out of the 44 breeders.

"Being the first and only drop of calves we have had, we noticed that 6.5 per cent of them were twins," Mr Murphy said.

According to the pregnancy scanning results, 95.5pc of the Murphys' breeders are in calf, meaning only two of the cows are dry for this season, and the rest are due to calve on March 13.

"This was our first time pregnancy scanning," Mr Murphy said.

"I think it is a huge benefit for us in terms of seeing which cows are dry.

"We have some cows that are eight-year-olds, so it was good to see what was in calf and what wasn't."

If any of the breeders aren't carrying a calf, Mr Murphy aims to sell them either at the Boyanup saleyards or direct to Harvey Beef or Western Meat Packers.

Once their cattle numbers are up, the Murphys will fence off smaller areas to help crucial parts of breeding and calving.

"I would like to split the breeders into thirds, having 20 cattle in each paddock," Mr Murphy said.

"This means I can have a bull in with each mob."

The objective behind the breeding plan ties in with the type of country on which Mr Murphy runs his cattle.

"Due to the hilly terrain we have here, having smaller paddocks is less stress on the bulls having a smaller distance to travel to serve all of the herd," he said.

"This should hopefully reduce any risk of injury for the bulls."

Putting the bulls in with the breeders in June for six weeks allows for a tighter calving window.

"This is also why I want to put the bulls in with smaller mobs, so that all of the calves will be dropping around the same time," he said.

"With our calving period beginning in March, it gives the breeders time to rest before putting the bulls out in June."

Mr Murphy picked a March calving because he is retaining the progeny until they are seven to eight-months-old.

"Our aim will be to keep about five heifer calves for replacements and then sell off the rest when they reach that age," he said.

"Because I am keeping the calves for that long I prefer to calve in March and sell in December so I'm not carrying them over the summer period."

Mr Murphy said carrying anything extra than his breeders over the summer when there was minimal feed on the ground, would be too difficult.

Calf weaning slots into the annual cattle calendar on December 2, just before they are sent to the saleyards.

"When weaning time comes around the cattle will hopefully weigh anything from 300-350 kilograms," he said.

When it comes to health treatments for their cattle, the Murphys will check their cows and calves twice a day in the thick of calving season.

"We drench twice a year as well as vaccinating at calving and putting rings on bull calves and ear tagging," Mr Murphy said.

With clover, ryegrass, barley grass and black oats already on the property, Mr Murphy focused on the infrastructure with a plan for pasture improvement in the near future.

"Eventually in the flatter areas I will put lime and fertiliser out and improve the pasture using a rye and clover mix," Mr Murphy said.

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"My next job is to also clear the thistles that are taking up valuable feed space.

"We buy in about 100 rolls of hay a year to assist with feeding over the summer months."

With a make-the-most-of-it attitude, he said he was all for using what was already on the property to his advantage.

"There are roughly 250,000 litres of water coming out of the gullies and hills per day," Mr Murphy said.

"Once the fencing is under control I am going to harness that water and use it as irrigation in the drier months."

All-in-all, the Murphys are settling into their farming lifestyle and are proof that it's never too late to get into the livestock industry.

"I think it is great to have a good relationship with your stock agent, they are very knowledgeable," Mr Murphy said.

"Another helpful aspect we have found is drawing on our neighbours for information and advice."